Since the J-10C equipped with phased array radar and advanced avionics system entered service, whether the J-10C will continue to launch new improved models has been a hot topic among military fans. Previously, some military fans It is believed that the current J-10C has reached the top level in terms of radar avionics and weapon systems, and the J-10C has a certain stealth design. The body uses a large amount of composite materials, and there is also the application of stealth coating. In the third The third-generation fighter is a model with excellent stealth performance. Therefore, in the next further improved version, the new -10 model may adopt a deep stealth design!
Imagination of the stealth version of the J-10
Recently, a photo of the "yellow-skinned" J-10 appeared on the Internet. This J-10 looks very different from the previous J-10 in appearance. The J-10 in this picture A new design is adopted on the back of the aircraft. The previous curved back is changed to a straight and protruding back. This makes the back of the J-10 look larger and the entire body looks more burly. Regarding the improvements on the back of the J-10, some netizens think it is to increase space to install a new avionics system, while others think it is obviously the addition of a conformal fuel tank !
The J-10 fighter with an improved back
In fact, the avionics of the fighter are constantly being updated. The current J-10C will not continue to use the current set of avionics during its decades of service, but The update of the avionics system is more reflected in performance rather than size. For a medium light fighter , there is no need to install an overly complicated avionics system. At present, no fighter has had such a drastic improvement in the aerodynamic shape of its body due to the installation of a new avionics system. Judging from the shape of the back of the J-10 and the characteristics of medium and light fighters, the author is more inclined to The J-10 actually has a conformal fuel tank added to its back, which is very similar to the F-16C block52 which has a conformal fuel tank.
Conformal fuel tank version of F16 fighter
So does our Air Force need a J-10 fighter with a conformal fuel tank? The answer to this can be obtained from the US Air Force's F16. This does not mean that we should copy the US Air Force's equipment model, but that the US Air Force's functional positioning and use of the F16 are very consistent with the characteristics of a medium-light fighter. my country's J-10 fighter jet and F16 are both medium and light fighters. One thing that medium and light fighter jets have in common is that their combat radius is not large. The medium and light fighters currently in service, when equipped with weapons in actual combat, have a combat radius of around 800 kilometers without carrying auxiliary fuel tanks and . Medium and light fighters that can exceed a thousand kilometers without relying on internal fuel include the J-10 , F16, and even Rafale , which is close to a heavy aircraft, usually carry auxiliary fuel tanks for flight training or combat.
Conformal fuel tank version of the F16 fighter
However, typical medium and light fighter bodies are relatively small, and the number of hardpoints is inherently limited. Taking out two to three heavy hardpoints to carry auxiliary fuel tanks will greatly affect the fighter's missile mounts. In order to solve this problem, the U.S. Air Force launched the F-16C block52 version with conformal fuel tanks. The characteristic of this F16 is that the sides of the back of the aircraft are raised, and the increased space is designed into two conformal fuel tanks, so that On the premise of increasing the range of the F16 fighter jet, it will not occupy additional weapon mounting points of the F16. Moreover, with such a conformal fuel tank, if an auxiliary fuel tank is mounted, the light F16 will also have a range close to that of a heavy aircraft, which can greatly improve the F16's range. The variety and flexibility of fighter missions!
Conformal fuel tank version J-10 imagination
F-16C block52 has been in service in the 1990s and has been introduced by the air forces of Poland , Pakistan , Israel and other countries. However, so far the US Air Force has not equipped the conformal fuel tank version. F16.Why doesn’t the US Air Force equip the F16 with a greatly increased range? This is because the U.S. Air Force does not need such an F16 at all! The U.S. Air Force has hundreds of heavy-duty F15 fighter jets. The combat radius of the F15 is sufficient. In fact, light fighter jets are most suitable for mid- and short-range air interception missions. As for the installation of conformal fuel tanks, they are designed for specific customers. Like , the Pakistan Air Force does not have heavy-duty fighter jets with long range, so there is a relatively large demand for F16s with conformal fuel tanks. The US Air Force obviously does not have such demand.
The J-10CE fighter jets equipped by the Pakistan Air Force
Let’s look at our Air Force. At present, our Air Force has equipped more than a thousand third-generation fighter jets. Among these more than a thousand third-generation fighter jets, the heavy-duty J-11 series, J-16, Su-30, The Su-35 adds up to more than half. Our Air Force already has a large number of long-range heavy-duty fighter jets. The requirements for the range of the J-10 fighter jet are not high. Heavy-duty aircraft are responsible for long-range operations, and the J-10 will be dispatched only for medium and short-range operations. There is no need at all. Instead of spending a lot of effort to develop and equip a conformal fuel tank version of the J-10, it would be more appropriate to use this energy and funds to produce a few more J-16s! From this point of view, the conformal fuel tank version of the J-10 was not developed for our Air Force itself. This new J-10 may be tailor-made for the Pakistan Air Force!
Our country’s air force has a large number of heavy-duty fighter jets, which do not need the conformal fuel tank version of the J-10
. The Pakistan Air Force is currently equipped with several third-generation aircraft, including the J-10CE, F16 and Xiaolong , which total close to 250 aircraft. Although there are many third-generation aircraft, But none of them are heavy-duty fighter jets. The Indian Air Force has more than 260 Su-30MKI heavy-duty fighter jets. The Pakistan Air Force’s current third-generation aircraft still has problems with short range and short dwell time when facing the Su-30MKI. Eighteen F-16C block52s were introduced to solve this problem. However, although the number of bombs and combat radius of the F-16C block52 with conformal fuel tanks have been significantly improved, the number is still too small!
Pakistan Air Force's Xiaolong Fighter Formation
The Pakistan Air Force has stopped introducing F16s from the United States. The current Pakistan Air Force mainly relies on the my country-developed Xiaolong and J-10 fighter jets to create a new generation of air combat power. Therefore, it has developed a new generation of air combat force for the Pakistan Air Force. It is very necessary to have a conformal fuel tank version of the J-10 fighter jet. Moreover, such a design is actually not very difficult. For our country, which has a sound and mature aviation industry system, such a J-10 fighter can be produced in a short time as long as it is needed. If the J-10 with conformal fuel tanks joins the Pakistan Air Force, it will undoubtedly greatly improve its combat capabilities against heavy fighter jets.
